The State Senate had a day never before seen in memory when two Senate Democrats, Pedro Espada of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens joined with all 30 Republicans to change majority control of that chamber from Democrat to Republican.

Sen. Espada was then elected the new Temporary President of the Senate, and Dean Skelos, a Republican from Nassau County, was installed as the Majority Leader. Both positions had been held by Sen. Malcolm Smith of Queens.

Since January, the Democrats had held a 32-30 majority of the 62-member Senate, after several members, including Espada and Monserrate, had flirted with joining the Republicans but opted to form the first Democratic Senate majority in 44 years. That now appears at an end with just the two Democratic members changing sides to form a new majority with the Republicans.

With two weeks remaining in the 2009 session, remaining issues appear to be up in the air as committee meetings have been called off, and committee chairpersons likely will shuffle, along with staff allotments. With a change in majority control from the last election, committee heads changed, and staff and office space changed with it, as most Republican staffers were laid off by the end of March. Now, that will all reshuffle, assuming the leadership change holds.

The Democrats are not going easily and are bringing a lawsuit to stop the takeover. The grounds appear to be how the vote was taken, and whether the Senate itself was technically still in session. I'm dubious on the willingness of the courts to involve itself in an internal dispute in another branch of government.

Gov. David Paterson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are highly critical of the change and vowing support for the Senate Democrats to hold on. What will continue in the hours and days ahead is that Senate Democrats will look to get their two members to reconsider their switch and return to the fold. A big chit they have is that senators Monserrate and Espada will face certain Democratic primary races next year if they remain joined to Republicans.

What of Charters?
How will this majority change affect charters schools? Charter schools enjoy support from senators of both parties, including Senators Espada and Skelos. Charter schools should continue to work with their elected representatives to inform them of their school and express their needs.

The big question is the status of the $30 million funding restoration promised last April by Senate Majority Leader, Malcolm Smith, who has always been a strong ally of charter schools. The process for distributing this funding had not yet begun. However, Gov. Paterson also supported this restoration, and he will be the key person to move this money if the Senate leadership change holds.

Such a narrow difference in party membership in a legislative house is unusual in New York, and with it the political intrigue and uncertainty increases. That was certainly the case during the post-election intrigue when majority control hung in the balance. Here we go again. In the coming days, this story will change on the hour.

Peter Murphy
for The Chalkboard